16 May 2019 / Archaeological guide “Acropolis and Museum” in Spanish

At the beginning of May, the Acropolis Friends Association printed, with the kind support of the J. F. Costopoulos Foundation, the archaeological guide “Acropolis and Museum” in Spanish. The guide describes the Acropolis Monuments and the exhibits of the Acropolis Museum and belongs to the unity “Archaeological walks around the Acropolis”. The unity includes seven archaeological guides, as follows: “Acropolis and Museum”, “Ancient Agora of Athens – Areopagus Hill”, “Roman Agora – Library of Hadrian”, “Hills of Philopappos – Pnyx – Nymphs”, “Museum of Ancient Agora of Athens”, “North, East and West Slopes of the Acropolis” and “South Slope of the Acropolis”.

23 April 2019 / Educational Programme – Third meeting

The third meeting of the educational programme of the Hellenic Art Galleries Association and the J. F. Costopoulos Foundation for Art Athina 2019 took place at Eleftheria Tseliou Gallery of Eleftheria Tseliou at Kolonaki, followed by a discussion with her and the artist Eozen Αgopian. Eleftheria Tseliou highlighted the importance of a gallery to have an identity and a clear direction, but also the making of a trust relationship between the gallery and the artist, that leads to the duration of the works over time. While the artist talked about her work οn the occasion of the exhibition that the gallery is currently hosting with the title “Unfold”. Αccording to her “My work is organic, each work has to do with multi-sensitivity, it’s an unfolding process of what you see”. Moreover, she stressed the importance of colour in her work, saying “Colour is personal to me”.

10 April 2019 / Educational Programme – Second meeting

The second meeting of the educational programme of the Hellenic Art Galleries Association and The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation for Art Athina 2019 took place in the studio of the artist Nikos Arvanitis, who spoke on the importance of the viewers’ interaction with his work. As he stated, “All my works are a representation that does not remain 100% realistic, but its aim is to render the whole plot to something new.” Afterwards the students visited a.antonopoulou art gallery of Angeliki Antonopoulou, according to whom the interrelations of the gallery with the artist and the art historian are and should be creative and based on confidence and mutual respect.

4 April 2019 / OPEN HOUSE Athens 2019. BACK TO BASICS_ 6 – 7 April 2019

The 6thOPEN HOUSE Athens is back! On 6 & 7 April 2019, 100 buildings open their doors; 500 volunteers are getting ready to guide us!

The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation participates for the first time and welcomes the public in its historical building at 9 Ploutarchou Street, once the residence of the archaeologists C. Blegen, B. Hill, and their wifes. The free architectural guided tours by the volunteers of the 6th OPEN HOUSE Athens will take place on April 6 and 7, from 12:00 to 16:00.

The building

The building at the corner of Ploutarchou and Karneadou St, at the foot of Mount Lycabettus, was built in 1895-96 for Nikolaos Sardis on land which belonged initially to the Petrakis Monastery. Three years after its completion it was sold by the original owner to army officer Richardos Karamalikis, and in 1917 it was bought by the merchant brothers Gerasimos and Georgios Raftopoulos, who sold it in turn to Elizabeth Blegen in 1929.Since then, and until recently, the neoclassical building formed part of the lives of two prominent American archaeologists, Carl Blegen and Bert Hill, and their wives Elizabeth Blegen and Ida Hill, also archaeologists.

The famous residents’ stay at the villa and their contribution to the world of Greek archaeology culminated in 1963, when Elizabeth Blegen donated the house and its furniture to the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. In 1973, after the Blegens had died and as the School faced financial problems, the property was sold to Basil and Elise Goulandris. In 1988 it was bought by Markos Lemos, who erected in the plot the shop and office building known as the Lemos International Center (LIC). Already by that time, following the State’s intervention, the Blegen residence had been declared a listed building in 1983 as “a work of art in need of special protection”, according to the final opinion by the Central Council for Modern Monuments.

Alpha Bank purchased the building in 1991. Following the refurbishment of the interior and the restoration of the ceiling paintings revealed during the process, the building housed the Private Banking Division of Alpha Bank until 2007. Meanwhile, in 2004 it had become the property of the J. F. Costopoulos Foundation, which moved into it in 2008.

Organisation: OPENHOUSEGREECE

Open House Greece is a Non Profit Civil Partnership aiming to promote architecture in Greece and abroad, through the annual events Open House Athens and Open House Thessaloniki. Founded in 2012, it belongs to the wider family of Open House Worldwide (www.openhouseworldwide.org), which ensures the global promotion of each Open House event.

10 April 2019 / Educational Programme – First meeting

Educational Programme of The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation and the Hellenic Art Galleries Association for the students of Athens School of Fine Arts

March 23, 2019 / The first meeting of the Educational Programme 2019 of the Hellenic Art Galleries Association and The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation for Art Athina 2019 took place in the studio of the artist Yorgos Maraziotis, who spoke extensively on the importance of collaborating with other artists. Afterwards, the students visited Nitra Gallery whose owner and director Aliki Tsirliagkou encouraged the students to support the local art scene by being socially active.

Photo Cretids: Evangelos Dimopoulos

Photo Cretids: Evangelos Dimopoulos

26 March 2019 / “These are the labels I like to read” An educational programme at the archeological site of Kerameikos

“These are the labels I like to read”

An educational programme at the archeological site of Kerameikos

This educational programme aims to investigate the possibility for children to produce explanatory labels for other children visiting an archeological site. During this pilot programme, children would be encouraged to design the format as well as write the content of the labels.

This project emerges from the need to make the greek cultural heritage more attractive, comprehensive and accesible to children and their families. We hope to accomplish this by recording the interests and the ways a group of children between 9-10 years old and coming from different social backgrounds, gain knowledge. Two schools are participating in this programme and they are Hill Memorial School and the 49th Primary School at Kerameikos, a state school that almost all pupils are immigrants of second generation, from many different countries of the world as is Albania, China, Egypt, Alfganistan, Bangladesh and a few refugee children from Syria. The groups will be comprised of 20-24 children in total from both schools. The duration of the project is 4 months, from March to June 2019.

The methods to be followed will include research of sources, on-site recording of findings, participations in guided tours, interviews, sketching, photographing and exploration games.

At the end of the programme there will be an open invitation presentation to showcase the work that children have done.

The programme is designed by Alkistis Halikia, Museum Educator-Writer and is under the scientific supervision of Dr Marlen Mouliou, (Lecturer in Museum Studies, Faculty of History and Archaeology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Philosophy).

The programme is supported by the J. F. Costopoulos Foundation.

26 February 2019 / Publication “Analogio 2005-2017”

This publication, in both Greek and English, demonstrates eloquently and vividly the successful journey of Greek playwriting in Analogio Festival, from its beginning in 2005 to this day. It highlights the already historic course and the appeal of Analogio on a performing and research level.

At the same time this book provides a forum for the theoretical approach of new plays in the form of staged theatrical readings, on the basis of their historical, social and artistic context, in Greece and abroad.

It finally underlines the value and the necessity of supporting Greek playwriting and dramaturgy, developing creative dialogue with the theatre of other countries and bringing the Greek audience and playwrights in substantial interaction with the international artistic, literary and theatrical community and audience.

The first presentation of the book took place in Athens, at the Amphitheatre of the Benaki Museum / 138 Pireos Street, on Thursday 31 January 2019, and the second presentation followed at the Sarajevo Winter Festival on February 8, 2019.

The publication may be obtained either at ALPHA BANK – CULTURE store, 40 Stadiou street, Athens (www.alphapolitismos.gr/eshop) or at the Bookstore of the Benaki Museum, 138 Pireos street, Athens.

13 February 2019 / Codex Book Fair. Participation of Maro Vandorou’s “A book of whispers”. An artist book produced with the kind support of The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation

11 February 2019 / Apologies 4&5 in St. Paul’s Anglican Church

Argyro Chioti/VASISTAS theatre group

Apologies 4&5 by Efthimis Filippou

St.Paul’s Anglican Church

28 & 29/1, 5/2, 11 & 12/2, 18/2

Argyro Chioti with her theatre group VASISTAS, bring again Apologies 4&5 by Efthimis Filippou, only for a few performances, from 28th of January until the 18th of February in St.Paul’s Anglican Church in the center of Athens.

One judge. An undefined metaphysical leading figure who borrows elements from a school examiner a police investigator and a psychoanalyst. Two examinees. A woman and a man at the same age. In the middle edge of their lives. They become voluntarily subjects examined either for social inclusion or exclusion. In an empty space and an undefined time, they review all the turning points that determined their lives until now. It is a moment of redefining and reviewing their past. A moment of reckoning with their memory.

The basic demand: who will achieve to join the women’s choir, – ultimate witness and judge of the trial, who sings the same polyphonic song, again and again, throughout the entire performance.

The theatre play of Efthimis Filippou is a lyrical and poetic text which attempts to wander about the internal geography of two people. A precipitation in the details that compose their lives.

The women’s choir was created based on inspirations by the work of the artist Christina Calbari, Aleksandra Waliszewska and the polyphonic group A Filetta.

«If swimming gives you pleasure, may you never dive againinto clear blue waters.

If you sleepsoundly at nightmay your pillowturn to stoneand your sheet to steel.

If you do nottell the truth here tonight, then you are not worthyof dancing,not even for a minute and you’ll stand over there alonetill you die»

6 February 2019 / Second presentation of the book “Analogio 2005-2017. Dramatic and Stage Writing in Greece”

THE J. F. COSTOPOULOS FOUNDATION ANALOGIO FESTIVAL

PRESS RELEASE

After the first presentation of the book “Analogio 2005-2017. Dramatic and Stage Writing in Greece”, a successful event on January 31, 2019 in Athens, at the Benaki Museum / 138 Pireos Street, the second presentation follows at the Sarajevo Winter Festival on February 8, 2019.

This publication, in both Greek and English, demonstrates eloquently and vividly the successful journey of Greek playwriting in Analogio Festival, from its beginning in 2005 to this day. It highlights the already historic course and the appeal of Analogio on a performing and research level.

At the same time this book provides a forum for the theoretical approach of new plays in the form of staged theatrical readings, on the basis of their historical, social and artistic context, in Greece and abroad.

It finally underlines the value and the necessity of supporting Greek playwriting and dramaturgy, developing creative dialogue with the theatre of other countries and bringing the Greek audience and playwrights in substantial interaction with the international artistic, literary and theatrical community and audience.

Analogio Festival started in the early 2000s and has been established as a festival of Greek playwriting which promotes the text, underscores its theatricality and demonstrates the magic of the theatre. The idea is to provide a forum for the first on-stage presentation of emerging, ascending as well as established playwrights; to create a privileged locus, a meeting point for Greek dramaturgy with that of other countries.

Moreover, it works with international artists, dramatists and curators, takes part in international networks, collaborates with the International Playwrights’ Forum (IPF) and the International Theatre Institute of UNESCO, is a member of the European Festival Association (EFA) and has been awarded the 2017 Remarkable Festival label by EFFE–Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe– as “an important effort for the promotion of artistic creation and cultural exchange, on an international level”.

Analogio has grown into an institution of international scope; a thoroughly cosmopolitan event; a protocol of cultural intervention as well as of cultural diplomacy. To this day it has presented to the public 150 new Greek and foreign plays in its main programme and some 250 events with almost 1,200 contributing artists. Over 120 writers watched their plays for the first time on the stage of Analogio, while new playwrights from Greece and abroad introduced themselves through the festival. Similarly, young directors, actors, musicians, choreographers, photographers and visual artists, most of whom are now accredited members of the country’s art scene, first presented their artistic propositions in Analogio. Many of the festival’s productions went on to feature in national, municipal and commercial theatres. Plays and literary works among those that premiered in Analogio were translated, travelled to similar events in Greece and beyond and were nominated for and awarded international prizes (www.analogiofestival.org).

About The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation

The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation, a non-profit charitable institution, was founded in 1979, on the occasion of the centenary of the Alpha Bank, then operating as Credit Bank, in memory of its founder John F. Costopoulos by its then Chairman, the late Spyros Costopoulos and his wife Eurydice.

The aim of the Foundation is to contribute towards the advancement of arts, education, research, cultural heritage, and to assist in welfare acts. Embodying its purpose, as it is stipulated by its Articles of Association and Operation, the Foundation continuously supports the safeguarding and promotion of Greek culture both in Greece and abroad.

The foundation often collaborates with other important institutions in order to either support initiatives of common, more particularly national, interest or realize ventures in tune with its purposes.

It supports projects having to do with the preservation and promotion of ancient Greek, Byzantine and contemporary Greek civilization.

In addition, one of its main goals is the empowerment of artistic creativity and activities. Within this framework, the Foundation has linked its name with modern and contemporary visual art exhibitions, mainly retrospectives, for Greek or Greek-born artists of international acclaim in Greece and abroad, and their accompanying catalogues, while also important, as well as numerous, are the subsidies in the areas of Theatre, music, dance and cinema. The Foundation’s relation particularly with the Analogio Festival dates back to the very first year of the Festival’s realization (www.costopoulosfoundation.org).

1 February 2019 / Performance Phaedra I-

PRESS RELEASE

Phaedra I—, written and directed by Avra Sidiropoulou, is Athens-based Persona Theatre Company’s new international project, which brings together artists from Greece and the U.K. The show opens at Tristan Bates Theatre in central London, playing for a limited run (18th-23rd February 2019).

This is a solo multimedia portrayal of a modern-day Phaedra, the legendary wife of King Theseus, who falls hopelessly in love with her young son-in-law, Hippolytus. In this version, she bears all the ambiguities of a restless, contemporary woman, who oscillates between the desires of the flesh and the attraction to the void, as she suffocates in her socially imposed roles within the ruins of a decaying metropolis.

The production’s use of 3-D mapping, video projections and minimalist aesthetics yields a highly poetic visual trip through Phaedra’s stations of personal and public history. The performer embodies all the characters of the ancient myth passed onto us by Euripides, Seneca and Racine. Taking on their speech, Phaedra is also in constant dialogue with her digital selves, becoming Aphrodite, Theseus, Hippolytus, the Chorus and the crisis-ridden City itself. Struggling to escape the existential fatigue that plagues her, she ultimately emerges as a palimpsest of voices, images and memories.

A haunting, multi-sensory rendering of the insatiable desire for motion and for love.

This publication, in both Greek and English, demonstrates eloquently and vividly the successful journey of Greek playwriting in Analogio Festival, from its beginning in 2005 to this day. It highlights the already historic course and the appeal of Analogio on a performing and research level.

At the same time this book provides a forum for the theoretical approach of new plays in the form of staged theatrical readings, on the basis of their historical, social and artistic context, in Greece and abroad.

It finally underlines the value and the necessity of supporting Greek playwriting and dramaturgy, developing creative dialogue with the theatre of other countries and bringing the Greek audience and playwrights in substantial interaction with the international artistic, literary and theatrical community and audience.

The first presentation of the book will take place in Athens, at the Amphitheatre of the Benaki Museum / 138 Pireos Street, on Thursday 31 January 2019, at 18.30.

Platon Mavromoustakos, Professor, Theatre Studies Department, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Anna Karakatsouli, Associate Professor, Theatre Studies Department, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Introduced and moderated by: Meni Strongyli, editor of the English publication, Projects Manager of The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation

A discussion will follow.

For further information about the publication and the presentation:

Tel. +30 210 7293507, +30 697 724 1106

e-mail: info@costopoulosfoundation.org & info@analogiofestival.org

About Analogio Festival

Analogio Festival started in the early 2000s and has been established as a festival of Greek playwriting which promotes the text, underscores its theatricality and demonstrates the magic of the theatre. The idea is to provide a forum for the first on-stage presentation of emerging, ascending as well as established playwrights; to create a privileged locus, a meeting point for Greek dramaturgy with that of other countries.

Moreover, it works with international artists, dramatists and curators, takes part in international networks, collaborates with the International Playwrights’ Forum (IPF) and the International Theatre Institute of UNESCO, is a member of the European Festival Association (EFA) and has been awarded the 2017 Remarkable Festival label by EFFE–Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe– as “an important effort for the promotion of artistic creation and cultural exchange, on an international level”.

Analogio has grown into an institution of international scope; a thoroughly cosmopolitan event; a protocol of cultural intervention as well as of cultural diplomacy. To this day it has presented to the public 150 new Greek and foreign plays in its main programme and some 250 events with almost 1,200 contributing artists. Over 120 writers watched their plays for the first time on the stage of Analogio, while new playwrights from Greece and abroad introduced themselves through the festival. Similarly, young directors, actors, musicians, choreographers, photographers and visual artists, most of whom are now accredited members of the country’s art scene, first presented their artistic propositions in Analogio. Many of the festival’s productions went on to feature in national, municipal and commercial theatres. Plays and literary works among those that premiered in Analogio were translated, travelled to similar events in Greece and beyond and were nominated for and awarded international prizes (www.analogiofestival.org).

About The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation

The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation, a non-profit charitable institution, was founded in 1979, on the occasion of the centenary of the Alpha Bank, then operating as Credit Bank, in memory of its founder John F. Costopoulos by its then Chairman, the late Spyros Costopoulos and his wife Eurydice.

The aim of the Foundation is to contribute towards the advancement of arts, education, research, cultural heritage, and to assist in welfare acts. Embodying its purpose, as it is stipulated by its Articles of Association and Operation, the Foundation continuously supports the safeguarding and promotion of Greek culture both in Greece and abroad.

The foundation often collaborates with other important institutions in order to either support initiatives of common, more particularly national, interest or realize ventures in tune with its purposes.

It supports projects having to do with the preservation and promotion of ancient Greek, Byzantine and contemporary Greek civilization.

In addition, one of its main goals is the empowerment of artistic creativity and activities. Within this framework, the Foundation has linked its name with modern and contemporary visual art exhibitions, mainly retrospectives, for Greek or Greek-born artists of international acclaim in Greece and abroad, and their accompanying catalogues, while also important, as well as numerous, are the subsidies in the areas of Theatre, music, dance and cinema. The Foundation’s relation particularly with the Analogio Festival dates back to the very first year of the Festival’s realization (www.costopoulosfoundation.org).

10 July 2018 / The deadline for submission of applications has expired

June 30th was the deadline date for submission of applications to The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation for financial support of projects scheduled to be conducted in the twelve-month period beginning February 2019. We thank you!

10 July 2018 / Art Athina / Talks

Art Athina, in collaboration with The J.F. Costopoulos Foundation, establishes an educational programme for students of the Athens School of Fine Arts running all year round. Art Athina Educational Programme aims to Inform, inspire and prepare young artists and theorists for their introduction to the art industry. Christina Nakou and Daphne Kourl, visual artists, are responsible for the management and coordination of the programme. The new venture will be presented in the context of the Talks of Art Athina 2018.

There follows the programme of the Talks of Art Athina 2018.

The Talks program of Art Athina 2018 has been conceived as a curated group show which will not follow the traditional forms of visual art projects but it will present Logos. Thus, instead of art works. Logos will occupy this special project and the audience will be able to listen to a show and not to see it. Each group of participants, will be a crucial fragment of the general concept adding important key elements to the Talk’s synthesis. During the three days, the speakers will reveal different ideological views, different philosophies, contradictory orientations and they will develop critical investigation on a common ground: the city of Athens. The program aims to articulate a variety of cultural expressions and forms as well as new approaches towards critical ambitions and the production of knowledge.

Katerina Nikou
Independent curator
based in Athens, Greece

Talks Thursday, June 21

Strophe, a Turning
14.00- 15.00

The screening is followed by a talk with artist Ellie Ga, moderated by Helena Papadopoulos, founder. Radio Athens

Strophe, a Turning (2017) opens with the artist quoting the Russian poet Osip Mandelstam who compares launching a message in a bottle to the act of writing a poem to an unknown reader. Taking cues from both a bottle at sea and the beachcomber who eventually happens upon it, Ga initially developed the work out of her interest in how drifting objects have been used to chart sea movement. But her willingness to drift and follow uncertain turns, carries her unexpectedly to the Greek island of Symi, and then to the shores of its neighbour Lesvos, during the summer of 2015.

Ga is confronted by the mutable context of these islands, and decides to join a team of volunteers aiding asylum seekers and refugees-a definitive turning point at which she is forced to wrestle not only with the poetics of accidental drift, but with urgent political and humanitarian realities with which she confronts, processes, and situates within a nuanced and complex history of endurance, faith, and indeed, chance.

Ellie Ga
37 min.
Language: English, Greek
2017

Educational Program
17.00 – 18.00

Art Athina Educational Program in synergy with Τhe J. F. Costopoulos Foundation aims to bring together students from the Athens School of Fine Arts with artists and the galleries that represent them.

Through this exchange of ideas, the program informs, inspires and prepares young artists and theorists for their introduction to the art industry.

During the presentation of the program, in the Talks section, artists Daphne Kouri and Christina Nakou, coordinators of the Art Athina Educational Program discuss with the representatives of Art Athina and Τhe J. F. Costopoulos Foundation, students from the ASFA, artists and art professionals who participated in the program.

A discussion in honour of Tamuna Sirbiladze
18.00-19.00

On the occasion of this year’s Art Athina the Vienna based Gallery Charim in collaboration with the Austrian Embassy in Athens will pay a special tribute to late artist Tamuna Sirbiladze.

Having attended the Vienna Art Academy, the Georgian born artist lived and worked in Vienna for many years. Her unexpected death in the spring of 2016 left behind a corpus of works that are the subject of a posthumous mono¬graph published by David Zwirner books.

Taking into account her visits (and fond-ness) for Athens, a well selected choice of her works will be presented. Additionally, a single dynamic sculpture will be shown by Sirbiladze’s friend and contemporary, the Austrian artist Elizabeth Penker.

Representatives of leading cultural institutions of the country share their views on the way, the necessity, the purpose and the effectiveness of Art promotion in Greece in the last ten years.

Greeting
from the President of TheTOCElli Stai
Moderated by journalist of TheTOC
Katerina Lyberopoulou

Talks Friday, June 22

Musicand Painting
17.00-18.00

The key to living together

Structural, historical and sociological conditions for the co-existence of music and painting in the “Pantheon of Arts”: From the Renaissance to Impressionism.

Curator
Haris Xanthoudakis

Contemporary art in the Athenian landscape after 2000 / part 118.15 -19.15

The participants of this panel share a common element: they moved to Athens in an era where the financial and social crisis in Greece were at the pick. In this era of precarious conditions, they founded new project spaces as Athens now is considered to be one of the top destinations for new opportunities for the art production.

What are the reasons to open a space now in Athens when the majority of the local art spaces try to be sustainable? How do these new spaces formulate their program and how are they connected to the cultural field of Greece? What are the affiliations with the city, the art¬ists, the curators, the institutions?

The Athenian landscape regarding contem¬porary art was transformed after 2000 with the opening of galleries and project spaces from young people who decided to relocate to Athens.

They all had the experience from the international art scene thus they brought this experience in the city and presented to the local audience the new trends and new perspectives.

The public had the opportunity to follow exhibitions of local and international artists beyond the mainstream criteria without having to travel abroad.
The participants will present the vision they had and the program that they developed as well as their views on then and now.

There has been an international discourse about the relationship among artists, curators, art-historians and the audience. This phenome-non. is a consequence of the huge expansion of the role of the curator in the formulation of a dialogue regarding arts in the social sphere.

It is generally admitted, that despite some differences, there is a common condition that artists-curators and curators share: the catholic involvement in the process of making an exhibition which covers and demands many skills.

The transformation of the artist-curator to actually a self-entrepreneur happened silently through the years and resulted to a general pre-conception of the artist- curator as a pro-fessional Individual in the art-world.

The guest speakers belong to a generation which activated the contemporary art scene in Greece foremost following their personal moti-vation to act and express themselves.

The aim Is not to make a cartography of the curatorial practices in Greece but to em-phasize on particular times, places and gestures.Participants
Andreas Angelidakis / artist and architect / Kostas Christopoulos/ artist. Caroline May / artist. Dimitra Vamiali / artist. Jannis Varelas / artist. Kostis Velonis / artist

Cutaror / Moderator Katerina Nikou

Philosophies of Curating
19.30 – 20.30

Paul B. Preciado and Elena Sorokina are two cu-rators coming from different backgrounds both active in Europe.Paul B. Preciado is a philoso-pher. curator, and one of the leading thinkers in the study of gender and sexual politics.

He was Curator of Public Programs of documenta 14 (Kassel/Athens). He is a writer in residency at th-e LUMA Foundation, Arlès, France.Elena Sorokina is curator for the High Institute of Fine Arts in Gent. Belgium, previously she worked as curatorial advisor for documenta 14.

They will develop their thoughts and pres¬ent their practices about the making of the exhi¬bition under different frameworks and needs.

The role of the curators as well as the responsi-bility that they carry when they communicate a message to the audience.

Moreover, the obstacles, barriers and social issues that they need to research, examine and contemplate when they develop their curatorial methodologies.

Developments in technology and interartistic applications. Concept and realization: Art of the ideal and the minimal – perspectives. Questioning artistic boundaries and the new forms of artistic expression.

The present and the future of aesthetics in meta-modernism.

The talks will be addressing the general public and will be interspersed by numerous examples of image and sound.

Curator
Haris Xanthoudakis

Cultural activity in a metropolitan city: the London case
18.15 – 19.15

This talk includes participants who are based in London and are active in the city, a city that was and still is a metropolis of contemporary art. Though this does not mean that being an art professional in London is an easy case.There is a lot of competition with big institutions which set specific profiles whilst small institutions try to be sustainable.

Moreover, the majority of the art world wishes to move there and find a spot in the map. But what about the city per se? The scene per se which constantly accepts new audiences?

How the political situation influences the public, the visitors, the infrastructures, the institutions in an era where UK tries to balance between being or not a European city? What are the implications related to the art market, the notion of collection, in general to the cultural map of London? And last but not least, is it necessary to be inside Europe or outside Europe in order to belong somewhere with an international visibility? Or shall someone stay consistent, persistent and with a solid vision with long term aims?

Cultural production and the audience / How do we go public?
19.30 – 20.30

The social transformation that takes place in the contemporary era cannot be unrelated to culture and the production of knowledge. The latest years, we try to follow a wide range of projects from contemporary art exhibitions, theatre and film works to concerts, performanc es and other cultural events. Though, this gives the impression that things happen and people are active, the question is what is the quality behind these open forms of expression? Going public through culture is not as simple as it seems. Organizing any kind of event means that you address your concerns to the audience but the contemporary audience is more able than ever to evaluate the cultural production and its context and content.

The participants come from different backgrounds of cultural production wrhich deals with the audience. They will develop their thoughts and ways of communicating to the public their primary aims and concerns whilst scheduling their program. How can we trans¬form culture to a meeting point of a collective thought? How contemporary art can influence the general opinion of the public? Has art this kind of power? How we define quality in art? In which ways do we respect the audience? What kind of audience we want?

10 July 2018 / Christos Joachimides passed away

Christos Joachimides, art historian, passed away at the age of 85. The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation had the great honour to collaborate with the important Greek curator in 1994, in the context of Jannis Kounellis’ retrospective exhibition on the cargo vessel IONION, in the harbour of Piraeus.

Born in Athens in 1932, at the age of 20 he went to Germany to study philosophy and literature in Stuttgart and art history and cultural sociology in Heidelberg. After 1958 he lived in Berlin, and in recent years he had returned to Greece.

In 2011 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Visual Arts Department of the Athens School of Fine Arts, whose Senate decided to pay tribute to Christos Joachimides for his distinguished contribution in the field of contemporary art. He donated his extensive library to the Athens School of Fine Arts, whose Library has a wing named after him. He is leaving behind a considerable body of writings on issues pertaining to art.

10 July 2018 / Maria Lalou in Fall Open Studios 2017, International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP), ΝY

Maria Lalou, Greek visual artist who lives and works in Netherlands, presents her research project entitled “What do you see?” in Fall Open Studios 2017, in the context of her participation in the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP), in New York, with the kind support of The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation.

Read more:

Maria Lalou Greece/The Netherlands, Artist

Emphasizing audience members as active thinkers, Lalou creates research-based work about “the politics of the viewer.” Her works take the form of large-scale installations, performances, and publications, creating rhythms that synchronize past and present. Using her studio as a laboratory, Lalou evaluates with diagrammatic drawings the parameters of an algorithm that will govern the relation of the camera to the viewer, using architectural display as a three-dimensional matrix. Recent exhibitions include Performance Biennial, Athens; MoMart base for emerging and independent artists, Amsterdam; and Center of Contemporary Art in Thessaloniki.

iscp

international studio & curatorial program

About ISCP

The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) supports the creative development of artists and curators, and promotes exchange through residencies and public programs. Housed in a former factory in Brooklyn, with 35 light-filled work studios and two galleries, ISCP is New York’s most comprehensive international visual arts residency program, founded in 1994. ISCP organizes exhibitions, events and offsite projects, which are free and open to all, sustaining a vibrant community of contemporary art practitioners and diverse audiences. Over 1,300 artists and curators from more than 75 countries, including the United States have undertaken residencies at ISCP.

This program is supported, in part, by Arrogant Swine; Austrian Cultural Forum New York; Consulate General of Denmark in New York; Consulate General of Finland in New York; Consulate General of Sweden in New York; Google; Greenwich Collection, Ltd.; Lagunitas Brewing Company; Materials for the Arts; The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature; Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York; and Tattly.

The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP)Fall Open Studios is a two-day exhibition of international contemporary art presented by the 36 artists and curators from 22 countries currently in residence.

Twice a year only, ISCP offers the public access to the inner sanctum of artists’ and curators’ studios to view artwork and share one-on-one conversations. In these current times, spaces for open discourse are more important than ever—we invite the public to engage in dialogue about contemporary art with arts professionals from across the globe. Concentrated in a three-story postindustrial loft building on the edge of Bushwick, ISCP has supported the creative advancement of residents for over twenty years, with a robust program of private individual workspaces and professional benefits.

Concrete Truth: Art and the Documentary will be on view during Open Studios. Concrete Truth considers vital questions around fact and image-making. The exhibition presents recent lens-based works positioned at the boundary of art and the documentary. It takes stock of documentary art work produced in the last few years, highlighting the various ways artists represent political and social realities in an age of global disinformation. Artists in the exhibition include Edgardo Aragon, Eric Baudelaire, Paolo Cirio, Maryam Jafri, belit sag, and Krista Belle Stewart. The exhibition is curated by Kari Conte, Director of Programs and Exhibitions, ISCP.

Artworks for the 2017 ISCP Benefit Auction will be available for viewing in the Project Space.

Temporary tattoos designed by residents Cem Dinlenmi§ and Jess Johnson will be provided free by Tattly, and a limited edition by Cary Leibowitz will be available for purchase.

10 July 2018 / Stavros Costopoulos Research Fellowship

ELIAMEP and The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation established in 2007 the Stavros Costopoulos Research Fellowship and, ever then, our Foundation provides financial support on an annual basis. Through its establishment, ELIAMEP sought to upgrade its research on traditional foreign policy issues, such as the European integration, Greek-Turkish relations, developments in the Middle East and the Balkans or transatlantic relation. At the same time, this introduced into the research of foreign policy in Greece a practice which is tried and tested and quite widespread in Western Europe and America and enables Greek scholars to seek professional advancement beyond our national borders.

Stavros I. Costopoulos (1900-1968) Stavros I. Costopoulos was born in Kalamata on 14 September 1900. He was the youngest son of Ioannis F. Costopoulos, founder of today’s Alpha Bank. He studied Law at the University of Athens and Political Science and Economics at the University of Paris, where he was also awarded his PhD. He continued his studies in the United States of America. After returning to Athens, he practiced law. Stavros I. Costopoulos was repeatedly elected MP in the prefecture of Messinia from 1928 to 1965. He served many times as Minister, including as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1964-1965) and Defense Minister (1965-1966). He actively participated in his family’s trade, industrial and banking enterprises. Among others, he served as Governor of the National Bank of Greece (1951-1953) and President of the Board of Directors of the Commercial Credit Bank, the predecessor institution of Alpha Bank (1953-1968). He passed away in Athens on 23 June 1968.

10 July 2018 / ANALOGIO FESTIVAL 2017

Press Release

ANALOGIO FESTIVAL 2017

New drama. Greek plays.

Exploring the latest writings for the stage.

Saturday 16/9 – Sunday 24/9/2017

Theatro Technis (14 Frinichou str., under Parthenon, Plaka area)

Under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture

ANALOGIO FESTIVAL, member of EFA/EFFE (European Festivals Association/ Europe for Festivals- Festivals for Europe), comes back at the Theatre Technis, Frinichou Stage, Plaka area, from 16th to 24th of September 2017. The Festival presents a wide programme with a focus on the latest writings for the Stage, a Tribute to Nikos Kazantzakis, a target on new Greek plays and international drama, and parallel events such as seminars, discussions, new media, walking and poetry performances and installations in public spaces and archaeological sites.

In co-operation with Theatre Institute of Slovakia|| Kazantzakis Editions ||INSTITUTO CERVANTES DE ATENAS || Musical Studies department of University of Athens, Third International Festival of Poetry || Open Art Organization || The Milena Principle || 46th Zappeion Book Fair

The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation participates as lender of audiovisual material from its retrospective exhibitions.
For further information please visit the website of EMST

10 July 2018 / Collaboration with Art Athina 2017

Art Athina 2017 is being inaugurated today, Thursday May 25, 2017. The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation is participating with a tribute to Jannis Kounellis.

10 July 2018 / Art Athina 2017

Press release

Art Athina 2017

May 26-28, Tae Kwon Do (Faliro Indoor Hall)

The 22nd renewed version of the International Art Fair of Athens Art Athina, one of the oldest international art fairs of Europe, opens its doors on Friday May 26th – 28th at Tae Kwon Do Stadium (Faliro Indoor Hall).

12 sections comprise the basic spine of the fair which is composed by 56 local and international participations, according the program of its new artistic director, Stamatia Dimitrakopoulos.

The artistic program focuses on video, performance, design, project spaces, as well as the history of the organization that was funded by the Hellenic Galleries Association (PSAT) in 1993. Art Athina also includes conversations, children activities, and a very rich VIP program addressed to collectors.

Xenia Kalpaktsoglou as Artistic Advisor and Adonis Kourkoulos as coordination manager consist the new organizing team of Art Athina. The production of Art Athina is entrusted to Be Best company.

The new identity of the art fair is designed by G Design Studio, while Stavros Papagiannis (Stage Design Office) is responsible for the architecture and design of the organization.

The basic structure of the fair is the following:

MAIN 43 galleries from all over Greece and abroad present their program in the arena of Tae Kwon Do stadium.

HIGHLIGHT New international entries participate in this new section of Art Athina. Art Athina 2017 hosts 13 galleries, the majority coming from Los Angeles.

FEATURE A section conceived and organized by an annually appointed curator. This year’s section will is curated by Myriam Ben Salah (b. 1985, Algiers) editor-in-chief of Kaleidoscope magazine and curator, based in Paris. Ben Salah invites The Third Line gallery (Dubai) and Gregor Staiger gallery (Zurich) to participate in Art Athina with solo shows of artists Sophia Al Maria and Shana Moulton respectively. The title of this year’s Feature section is “Alternatives” and focuses on the work of the two artists who underline with sharp humor and dark precision the contemporary anxieties of our consumer society.

VIDEO Designed as a hotel room, the video room hosts CITIZENSFIVE, the project that the independent curator and writer Sasha Burenkov has curated for Art Athina.

CITIZENSFIVE is a large-scale survey of emergent contemporary art from all over the world, with 32 local and international participants. The screening program confronts our uneasiness at being swept by the digital tide while on the same time it offers a better understanding of our modern hyperlinked society and new perspectives on conceptualizing our contemporary identities.

SURVEY Independent curator Gallini Notti curates an archival exhibition with works that have marked the history of Art Athina. Through an act of introspection, the exhibition attempts to create an overview of the athenian art fair throughout the years.

Τhe section also includes the audiovisual installation of Katerina Zacharopoulou “Asking” (2014) that was made possible with the support of NEON organization. The installation is based on the material of the interviews conducted by Katerina Zacharopoulou for two decades, with theoreticians and representatives of museums and artists in Greece and abroad.

PERFORMANCE The performance program includes artists from the participating galleries. The detailed schedule will be released soon.

TRIBUTE

Art Athina commemorates artists Jannis Kounellis and Dimitris Mytaras. The J.F Costopoulos Foundation presents a screening of Heinz-Peter Schwerfel’ s film “Frammenti di un diario” (Germany 1996, 46΄) as well as archival material and the documentary book of Jannis Kounellis’ retrospective exhibition in Greece in 1994 (Piraeus, cargo vessel IONION). In the context of the tribute, Manolis Baboussis pulls together the presentation “The work of Jannis Kounellis through the lens of Manolis Baboussis”.

The National Gallery – Alexandros Soutzos Museum presents three paintings of the great Greek artist, from the collections of the National Gallery.

DESIGN

Unique, out of production furniture constitutes the section Design, comprised by Zoumboulakis gallery, Eleni Martinou gallery and Antiqua. The booth of DESTE offers a presentation of 1968, in collaboration with Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari’s TOILETPAPER. A small installation featuring Radical Design furniture takes visitors on a making-of tour of the 1968 project while at the same time introduces them to DESTE’s current exhibitions, Liquid Antiquity and DESTE Prize: An Anniversary Exhibition, 1999-2015, through the pages of their respective catalogues.

TALKS

Conversations, panels and interviews fuel the Talks program of Art Athina which is presented in a specially designed room. The detailed program will be released soon.

PUBLICATIONS

Bookshop and publishing house OMMU selects for Art Athina 2017 a series of independent artist books and catalogues. ΟMMU also presents the first archival exhibition of the publishing effort made by Nikos E. Papadakis, founder of ‘KTE’, the Athens Design Center ‘ADC’ together with Eleni Vernadaki, as well as the gallery and publishing house ‘POLIPLANO’ and the magazine ‘SIMA’. The exhibition includes publications, periodicals, ephemera and objects.

OPEN

Τhe annual open air installation of Art Athina, this year will be presented by Sonora128, a billboard project space by kurimanzutto gallery, programmed by Bree Zucker.

INDEPENDENT PROJECTS

Greek and international independent art spaces, present their projects in Art Athina 2017.

Μore Specifically:

Radio Athènesparticipates in Art Athina with two sound works by artists Rallou Panagiotou and Eleni Bagaki. The sound works have been commissioned in the context of All: Collected Voices, a project organized by Goethe-Institut Athen and Radio Athènes, curated by Thomas Boutoux and Helena Papadopoulos.

Enterprise Projects -an initiative of curator Danai Giannoglou and artist Vasilis Papageorgiou- participate in Art Athina with a fundraising project: the limited edition of an ashtray (edition of 200) bearing their characteristic logo, made in collaboration with Bend design office.

Neoterismoi Toumazou (Neo Toum) from Cyprus will create a lounge-study room, characteristic of their special aesthetics. They will also present their publishing initiative Neo Toum for the first time to the athenian audience.

ΣΕΡΑΠΙΣ (Serapis) is an international maritime corporation based in Greece, which creates clothing and art, among other works. In Art Athina, Serapis presents a new, limited edition, printed silk scarf. The scarf was designed to be worn by crew members, in this case the people working for the art fair.

Arbit City Group presents “Trophy Wife”, an outdoor installation of their work, in a new site-specific arrangement. The work consists of 10 nautical flags that spell the two words. As Arbit City Group comments, “Trophy wife is Athens and Athens is the trophy wife.”

The greco-parisien brand Pressure which is based in Paris, participates in Art Athina with a capsule collection made exclusively for the fair in collaboration with artist Ilyes Griyeb. Pressure also presents an exhibition of Ilyes grayed photography work.

EDUCATION

Artist drawings, painting activities, interactive exhibits and workshops sustain the program of Very Young Contemporary Art (VYCA) addressed to cat-loving families. The participating artists of Art Athina were asked to create black and white cat-themed drawings specially for the kids. The young and young at heart art crowd will afterwards explore the drawings, fill them with color and create their own cat hero.

In addition to the new structure of Art Athina, this year the fair also presents the VIP program, focused on eminent collectors from Greece and abroad. The special guests will be hosted in the new VIP lounge of Art Athina, furnished with exceptional pieces of Deloudis and Vitra companies.

NOTES TO PRESS:

• Please visit our new website for any updates. You are kindly requested to submit the necessary accreditation form by May 21st.

• The press conference of Art Athina 2017 and the preview for the Press will be held on Thursday, May 25, at 12:00, at TaeKwonDo Stadium. OPENNING DAYS AND HOURS Thursday May 25, 14:00-21.00 (invitations only) Friday, May 26 12:00-21:00 Saturday, May 27 12.00-21:00 Sunday, May 28 12:00-21:00

Free entrance: Children under 12 years old, Students of the Athens School of Fine Arts, AICA Hellenic Chamber of Arts members.

The organization of Art Athina is held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the Ministry of Tourism, the Region of Attica and the Municipality of Athens

The event is to be supported by the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of the Regional Operational Programme “Attika” 2014-2020

10 July 2018 / Group exhibition “Imaginary Spaces”

Imaginary Spaces

in the House of Cyprus

The House of Cyprus presents the group exhibition Imaginary Spaces, curated by art historian Stratis Pantazis.

The opening of the exhibition will be held on Monday 29 May 2017, at 20:00, in the House of Cyprus, 2A Xenofontos Street, Syntagma Square, Athens. The exhibition will run until 23 June 2017.

As the curator notes, in the exhibition Imaginary Spaces, the viewers are invited to enter the world of the artist and to realize that the image or the environment created is not a pure alternative to reality captured by our senses, as Gaston Bachelard argues in his book The Poetics of Space (1957). We should not perceive the artwork as an object or a substitute of an object, but experience it as a unique reality, a space of the artist’s imagination. The poetic image created by the artist is not the result of memory and experience, but the sudden expression of his or her psyche at a given moment. It is an impulse and not the echo of the past.

Hence each work or environment created by Pantelis Chandris, Eleni Lyra, Efsevia Mihailidou, Nikos Papadopoulos, Ilias Papailiakis, Rena Papaspyrou, Nina Pappa, Andreas Savva, Jannis Varelas and Zafos Xagoraris is a personal space possessed and guarded by its creator, formed through his or her imagination, charming and positive in its entirety. It is the space in which part of the artist’s psyche lives. By turning to imagination – a zone of loneliness and at the same time of connection to the world, where daydreaming becomes reality – the artist (and by extension each one of us) moves away from the past and the present, faces the future and discovers his or her own path in the chaos of the world.

The artworks in the show open a dialogue with one another, while individually creating their own environment, an imaginary zone, where we are confronted with each artist’s source of inspiration such as urban and private space, nature, personal experience, and art– in an effort to externalize thoughts and concerns and touch upon issues with existential and sociopolitical implications. Each work conveys the personal truth of its artist. Therefore the viewer might experience what the poet Jean Lescure argued: “an artist does not create the way he lives, he lives the way he creates”.

10 July 2018 / ATHENS VIDEO DANCE PROJECT 2017

ΑTHENS VIDEO DANCE PROJECT has the pleasure to announce the 7th AVDP-International Dance Film Festival that will take place in Athens, in collaboration with the Theater of Athens Fine Art School on 27, 28, 29 and 30 April, 2017.

10 July 2018 / Michael Tagkas – CD

The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation supported the recording and production of Michael (Michalis) Tagkas’ first CD entitled “Michael Tagkas plays Haydn, Beethoven & Chopin”. The important Greek pianist recorded his CD at Athens Concert Hall (Megaron), offering to the public an excellent musical product.

Curriculum Vitae

Michael (Michalis) Tagkas is a Greek pianist. Born in Greece, on March 1984. Educated at Athens Conservatoire with Maria Cherogiorgou-Sigara, Aliki Vatikioti-Farrant and he graduated from the class of Aris Garoufalis. Became a pupil of Patsy Toh (Fou Tsong’s wife) in London at Royal Academy of Music, at postgraduate level. He also studied with Pavel Gililov at Mozarteum Salzburg. Supported by the Gina Bachauer International Music Association. And also in the prestigious International Piano Academy Lake Como in Italy following the renowned artist Fou Tsong. Winner of Fulbright Grant ‘Fulbright Art Serie’ he was invited from the world-class Dr. Vitaly Margulis to work with him (Postdoc) at University of California in Los Angeles {UCLA} Department of Music and later with Jura Margulis and they established a cooperation, wich still continues in the United States. He recorded his first CD in 2015 at Athens Concert Hall (Megaron) under the support of The J.F. Costopoulos Foundation. He has also attended master classes with: Aquilles Delle-Vigne, George Kern, Peter Lang, Sulamita Aronovsky, Christopher Elton, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Andras Schiff, Dame Fanny Waterman, Fou Ts’ong and Dmitri Bashkirov. Has been supported from: The Gina Bachauer International Music Association, The Fulbright Foundation, J.F. Costopoulos Foundation, B & M Theocharakis Foundation for Fine Arts and Music, Thekla Marinidi, Lola Zolotas, Chrisanthy Lemos, The Kulukundis Family, Dame Fanny Waterman DBE, Sir Sydney Lipworth QC and Lady Rosa Lipworth CBE, Life Action Trust and Philharmonia Trust. Special illustrious collaborations including GOCO Ltd, LSG, Leeds International Piano Competition, Philharmonia Orchestra Trust, Megaron The Athens Concert Hall. Has performed in Europe and the Americas, he currently divides his time between his family home Athens, London and United States. Michael Tagkas is an Artist of Caecilia Agency, Switzerland and Legato Arts Agency, New York.

10 July 2018 / Alkis Pierrakos died

Alkis Pierrakos, the tireless expressionist, passed away on March 22, 2017, while visiting his beloved Nafpaktos (Lepanto). The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation had co-organised with the State Museum of Contemporary Art the exhibition: Alkis Pierrakos. Lepanto: The Naval Battle, curated by Katerina Koskina. The exhibition had been presented in Thessaloniki, Athens, Corfu, and finally in Nafpaktos (Lepanto) within the timeframe October 2014-November 2015.

Born on November 21st, 1920, in Thessaloniki,Greece. Until 1947 he lived in Yugoslavia, Thessaloniki and Athens. He studied at the Gewerbeschule of Basel (1948-1952), at the Slade School of Fine Arts and at the Central School of Arts and Crafts of London, where he met Oskar Kokoschka. In 1954, he moved permanently to Paris. Since 1980, he was working for long periods at Oxylithos, Evia. He was a member and the co-ordinator of the group “La Ligne et le Signe”, which aimed to combine the limitations of drawing with the freedom of colour. In 1995, the “Association pour la Promotion de l’oeuvre d’ A. Pierrakos (APOAP)” was established.

His works have been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad.

10 July 2018 / Jannis Kounellis died

Jannis Kounellis, the internationally renowned artist passed away on February 16, 2017. In 1994 the J. F. Costopoulos Foundation had organised the retrospective exhibition of the major exponent of the Italian art movement Arte Povera in Greece. The exhibition, which was presented on the cargo vessel IONION in the harbour of Piraeus, the artist’s birth place, initiated the Foundation’s programme of its own major exhibitions and publications, a special chapter in its history, and a decisive activity for its identity.

As a result of the unique character of this exhibition and its success within and beyond the borders, the Foundation’s communication and collaboration with Jannis Kounellis grew into a warm and productive relationship, and, according to his wishes, led to the creation of an archive in the premises of the Foundation in Athens, Greece, of Kounellis’s exhibitions and bibliography which is regularly enriched and updated.

Read more about Jannis Kounellis’s retrospective exhibition in 1994 in Greece here.

10 July 2018 / Performance Displacement – The Road

PRESS RELEASE

Program PROLEGOMENA (PROLOGUES)

Persa Stamatopoulou Contemporary Dance Company

Performance Displacement – The Road

17- 18 December 2016 at 19.00

With the kind support of: THE J. F. COSTOPOULOS FOUNDATION

The National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) completes the program PROLOGUES with the presentation of the performance Displacement – The Road by Persa Stamatopoulou Contemporary Dance Company, on Saturday 17 and on Sunday 18 December at 19.00 with the kind support of The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation.

It regards a solo-performance based on the idea of ​​a trip that is organized and experienced by an individual and explores the concept of change and displacement from one place to another, the wandering, the re-start and finally the action he is required to handle within a landscape without borders and without boundaries, timeless, blank, white.

With the collaboration of the musician Sakis Kleisiaris (original music composition) a sound environment is created, as a musical score, on which the kinetic action gradually unfolds. The performer – dancer, as a traveler in space and time, experiments with a simple, abstract kinetic vocabulary, redefining each time his position and perspective.

Combining the continuous displacement of the body, through variations in weight, axis, position and gaze, with the idea of ​​a world which is in an increasingly violent and continuous redistribution, common grounds and benchmarks between them are sought. The performance, which retraces the timelessness of human displacement, is inspired by Fernando Pessoa’s book titled “The Walker” and by using the body and sound as tools, approaches and records a route of overturns, pauses, alertness, redefinition and reconstruction.

Program PROLOGUES (PROLEGOMENA)

The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (EMST) utilizing the period of mandatory testing prior to its final operation and pending the completion of the procedures that will lead to its inauguration, chose to realize from the summer until the end of 2016, a series of periodical artistic events which aimed firstly at the development of synergies with Greek and international institutions of related purpose and secondly at the acquaintance of the public with its new building.

The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation

The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation which with its work aims to strengthen and promote Greek culture, literature and arts, has contributed to the presentation of innovative productions in Greece and abroad and has supported from their first steps important dance groups and festivals, that have vindicated its choices with their dynamic presence in the field.

Entry is free with admission tickets that will be distributed by EMST on a first come first served basis one hour before the performance.

10 July 2018 / CREATIVE WORKSHOP ILIOTECHNO

CREATIVE WORKSHOP ILIOTECHNO
EXPERIENTIAL SEMINAR OF NARRATING – DRAMATIZING AND WRITING A FAIRYTALE
«The therapeutic value of fairytales»
A particularly interesting and experiential seminar for both the healing and the educational value of fairytales , will take place in the creative workshop Iliotechno for 3 successive Saturdays (5, 12 and 19 December) and hours: 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The Greek word “Paramithia” means consolation.
How can a fairy tale console a child or even an adult, eliminate their fears and insecurities, develop their imagination and creativity and strengthen their soul?
The seminar is intended for special educators , actors, teachers, parents and those animate groups of children or adults.
At the end of the seminar (19 December) the participants will present their own tale to a specially organized event for children who are offered hospitality in a shelter of offer and love.
Registration at the phone: 210 9523028
ISSUED CERTIFICATE
With the kind support of
THE J. F. COSTOPOULOS FOUNDATION

EXPERIENTIAL SEMINAR OF NARRATING – DRAMATIZING AND WRITING A FAIRYTALE

CREATIVE WORKSHOP ILIOTECHNO

«The therapeutic value of fairytales»

A particularly interesting and experiential seminar for both the healing and the educational value of fairytales , will take place in the creative workshop Iliotechno for 3 successive Saturdays (5, 12 and 19 December) and hours: 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
The Greek word “Paramithia” means consolation.
How can a fairy tale console a child or even an adult, eliminate their fears and insecurities , develop their imagination and creativity and strengthen their soul?
The seminar is intended for special educators , actors, teachers, parents and those animate groups of children or adults.
At the end of the seminar (19 December) the participants will present their own tale to a specially organized event for children who are offered hospitality in a shelter of offer and love.
Registration at the phone: 210 9523028

ISSUED CERTIFICATE

With the kind support of

THE J. F. COSTOPOULOS FOUNDATION

10 July 2018 / Anthemion: 25th Ιssue

The Friends of the Acropolis announces the publication of the 25th issue of the journal “Anthemion” supported by The J.F. Costopoulos Foundation. The Journal contains the program of the events organized by the Union in the year 2014, texts of lectures and scientific articles.

Inauguration: September 11, 2015 / 19.00
The exhibition “Alkis Pierrakos. Lepanto: The Naval Battle” is inaugurated in Nafpaktos, at the Fethiye Mosque, on the occasion of the 444th anniversary of the Naval Battle of Lepanto. This is the forth presentation of the exhibition, following the previous three presentations at the State Museum of Contemporary Art venue in Moni Lazariston, Thessaloniki (10.10.2014-10.01.2015), at the Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika Gallery, Benaki Museum, Athens (05.02-28.03.2015), and at the Latin Chapel of the Old Fortress of Corfu (08.04.-01.09.2015).
This crucial historical event that took place in October 1571, is presented by Alkis Pierrakos with quick and sturdy strokes of indian ink on paper, with the Ionian Sea as an abstract scene and his painting as a narrative and image-creating power. The black and white drawings serve as a reminder that art plays an effective and interactive role, as it revives and updates historical memory, conveys meanings and messages and stimulates feelings. On the one hand, the Top of Form
works illustrate abstractly and dynamically the historically critical for the development of European civilization Battle of Lepanto, which broadly defined the history and fate of Europe after the collision between the forces of the Christian Western world and Islam. On the other, they refer to current, daily images of wild conflicts and atrocities, with dramatic effects and many innocent victims throughout the world, particularly in the Mediterranean.
The exhibition is co-organised by the State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki and The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation, Athens, and it is realised due to the kind invitation and with the collaboration of the Municipality of Nafpaktos, and the Ephorate of Antiquities of Aetolia-Acarnania and Lefkada.
It is implemented under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs and with the support of the Association for the Promotion of the Work of Alkis Pierrakos (APOAP) and the company GEFYRA S.A.

Curator: Katerina Koskina, Art Historian – Museologist

The inauguration will take place in the presence of the artist on Friday, September 11, 2015, at 19:00 hours

Born on November 21st, 1920, in Thessaloniki,Greece. Until 1947 he lived in Yugoslavia, Thessaloniki and Athens. He studied at the Gewerbeschule of Basel (1948-1952), at the Slade School of Fine Arts and at the Central School of Arts and Crafts of London, where he met Oskar Kokoschka. In 1954, he moved permanently to Paris, where he lives and works until today. Since 1980, he has been working for long periods at Oxylithos, Evia. He has been a member and the co-ordinator of the group “La Ligne et le Signe”, which aimed to combine the limitations of drawing with the freedom of colour. In 1995, the “Association pour la Promotion de l’oeuvre d’ A. Pierrakos (APOAP)” was established.

His works have been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad.

Under the auspices

MUNICIPALITY OF NAFPAKTOS

Supporters

Ephorate of Antiquities of Aetolia-Acarnania and Lefkada

Association for the Promotion of the Work of Alkis Pierrakos (APOAP)

GEFYRA S.A.

INFORMATION

State Museum of Contemporary Art, tel. 2310 589152

The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation, tel. 210 7293507

Municipality of Nafpaktos, tel. 2634 360138

10 July 2018 / 29th PAXOS MUSIC FESTIVAL

We are delighted to welcome everyone to our 29th Festival, with an ambitious program based around concerts featuring the Benyounes Quartet and the product of choral workshops.

Our opening concert features the return to Paxos of the flautist Ria Georgiadis after her beautiful summer performance of 2 years ago, with her piano partner Sven Birch.

This also marks the start of a series of workshops again under the inspired leadership of Dimitra Trypani, whose remarkable new composition “Once Upon a Time in Paxos” was toured around Greece last winter to great acclaim; always with choirmaster Aneljia Stefanova.

The concert by the highly praised Pleiades polyphonic vocal group of 4 women will also include work from their masterclasses, to be followed at the end of the week by an outdoor performance in the magical setting of Lakka School of the new work stemming from the Interdisciplinary Choir Workshop.

In a new direction for this year, we have invited a fast rising string quartet and pianist to join us for a full week and create 3 concerts. The Benyounes Quartet were one of only 2 UK finalists in the Wigmore Hall competition, and bring a wide program of work, together with an informal evening for you to talk with them and enjoy some more informal music.

These changes would have been impossible without the newly formed “Friends of Paxos” Nonprofit Organization at the heart of the festival organization on the island.

We are particularly grateful to old and new sponsors who are supporting us in these difficult times, coupled with the enthusiasm of our loyal audience.
We hope you will enjoy this program; help us prepare for next year’s 30th Anniversary celebration!

NickThompson, Chairman

SATURDAY AUGUST 22nd, 8pm

CONCERT – EVENT

Meet the performers: learn about this year’s program & workshops in relaxed surroundings and with musical surprises.

Free Entry

Venue: Old Loggos School

SUNDAY AUGUST 23rd, 8pm

CONCERT: Flute (Ria Georgiadi) & Piano (Sven Birch)

Ria Georgiadi’s repertoire spans over the entire spectrum of the flute literature. She has recorded for the Greek and Austrian Radio. A great number of compositions for the entire flute family have been dedicated to and premiered by her. Researcher and sought after pedagogue.

Sven Birch is a danish pianist and conductor, Univ. Professor and head of the Department of Keyboard Instruments at the Bruckner University Linz, head of the Piano Academy “Center Of Piano Art” in Linz. He devotes an important part of his artistic output to contemporary music as well as jazz and improvisation.

Founded in 2008 Ergon Ensemble is one of Greece’s leading contemporary music ensembles; working in close collaboration with Ensemble Modern of Frankfurt, a world-leading ensemble of new music, they aim mainly in promoting Greek music in the International Music Scene.

Pleiades Vocal women’s group was created in 2006 in Thessaloniki. Their goal is to contribute, through intense artistic creation, to the international recognition of the Greek traditional music so as to mobilize all those who can serve and transmit it to the new generations. They were selected to represent Greece in the 14th Biennale of New Artists of Europe and the Mediterranean with “The crossing” (a performance based in Epiros polyphonic songs).

Songstobeperformed:

Καλή ώρα να ’χουν οι ελιές/ Kali ora nahoun I elies

Φίλοι μ’ καλώς ορίσατε / Filim kalos orisate

Το τραγούδι της δουλειάς / to tragoudi tis doulias

Τι κακό ’καμα ο καημένος / ti kako kama o kaimenos

Oria mu pisulina

Το γιασεμί / to giasemi

Γιάννη μου το μαντήλι σου / Gianni mou to mandili sou

Άντρα μου πάει / Andra mou pai

Σε πολλές χαρές που πήγα / se polles hares pou piga

Τα πάθη μου να γράψω /ta pathi mou na grapso

Ergen dedo

Το τραγούδι της κούνιας / to tragoudi tis kounias

Oria mu fenese

Πέρα σ’ εκείνο το βουνό / pera sekino to vouno

Domakine

Το αλφαβητάρι της αγάπης / to alfavitari tis agapis

Ενύχτωσε κι εβράδιασε / enihtose ki evradiase

La lega

Το Μαργούδι κι ο Αλεξανδρής / to Margoudi ki o Alexandris

The following members of the Pliades singers will be taking part: Despina Kalpenidou, Ioulia Routziou, Georgia Tenta, Roula Tsernou.

Venue: Old Lakka School

FRIDAY, AUGUST 28th, 8pm

Interdisciplinary Choral Workshop Concert: “THE TWIN MOTHERS”

Participating among others are: students of the Music Studies Department of the Ionian Univ. members of the choral groups of the Local Cultural Association, choir members of the “Harmonia” Preveza youth choir. The commissioned work presented is “Didimanes”, composed by Dimitra Trypani, based on the homonym novel by Spyros Bogdanos about a true 19th century story on Paxos.

Venue: Old Lakka school

SATURDAY, AUGUST 29th, 8pm

1st CONCERT of the “BENYOUNES” STRING QUARTET

Benyounes: one of the most dynamic, successful and upcoming string quartets of ambitious young musicians presented recently in the UK. Winners of the 1st prize in the Sandor Vegh International String Quartets Competition (Budapest, 2012) and of the 2nd prize in Orlando International String Quartet Competition (2014).

FeaturingJeremy Youngat the piano, one of the most versatile and acclaimed UK musicians.

Program

DEBUSSY
Violin Sonata in G minor

LISZT
Sonetta del Petrarca No 104 for piano

MENDELSSOHN Venetian Gondola Songs Op19 No 6 and Op 30 No 6 for piano

RACHMANINOV
Vocalise for cello and piano

SCHUMANN Fantasiestuke for cello and piano

SCHUBERT
Quartet in D minor “Death and the Maiden”

Venue: Old Loggos School

MONDAY AUGUST 31st, 8pm

Meet the musicians of the Benyounes quartet and some of their musicians friends in a relaxed evening full of musical surprises.

Interdisciplinary Choral Workshop (23-28/8 2015)
This workshop’s intent is to bring into artistic contact and cooperation through choir and theater disciplines professional and amateur musicians over 18 years of age enriching singing with movement and speech. Participants will be introduced to contemporary choir techniques along with the vast music and cultural traditions of the area.
Participants will work intensively to prepare a performance of the music work of Dimitra Trypani, composer and lecturer at the Department of Music Studies of the Ionian University under the title “Didimanes” (Twin Μothers), a music and theater play for a 5 voices choir, percussion and two narrators.

Play duration: 45 min

Rehearsals Duration: 5-6 hours daily from 23 to 29 August 2015

Choir teachers: Aneljia Stefanova, multiple prize winner with children and teenager’s choirs in Preveza, Lefkas and Ioannina, and Dimitra Trypani.

Staging: Choreographer and dancer Mairy Randou

The workshop results will be presented in the concert of 28 August 2015 in the old school in Lakka, PaxosRequirements for the participants: Men but mainly women over 18 years of age, who love music and singing and have some professional or amateur level experience (music uni students, music schools students, choir members, singing groups members, teachers, singers, actors etc) with an average musical perception and sense of rhythm and movement. Score reading skills desired but not essential.

Traditional Polyphonic Song Workshop – Women’s Phonetic Ensemble “Pleiades” (24-27/8 2015)
Pleiades will be introducing to the participants elements and techniques of traditional polyphonic singing from the areas of Epiros, Ionian Islands and South Italy. The results of the workshop will be presented during the Pleiades concert on the 27th August 2015.Participants: Greek and English speaking men and women aged from 18. Only up to 15 active participants will be accepted. If more they will be able to follow as observers.Please apply at paxosworkshops@gmail.comParticipation fee: free for locals, 30 euro per person for non locals.

MusicWorkshopforchildren (23-28/08)
Our annual children’s music workshop refers to children aged 4-13 and it is free.
For more info please contact local producer Faye Lychnou at +30 6944633123 or at fayelychnou@hotmail.com or send a message at our facebook page: facebook www.facebook.com/paxosmusicfestival.

Workshops are realized with the kind support of: THE J. F. COSTOPOULOS FOUNDATION

The Mayor of Paxos and the Local Municipal Council members, Katerina Koskina, the Board of Directors of Paxos Cultural Association, Parents Associations, Friends of Paxos Non Profit Organization, Elvira Metallinou (Image Corfu), local businesspeople.

10 July 2018 / “MNEME – Early Music from the Mediterranean”, with the Ex Silentio Ensemble

10 July 2018 / ALKIS PIERRAKOS. LEPANTO: THE NAVAL BATTLE

«ALKIS PIERRAKOS.

LEPANTO:

THE NAVAL BATTLE”

April 8 – June 14, 2015

Latin Chapel,

Old Fortress of Corfu

Inauguration: Wednesday April 8, 2015 / 19.30

Press Release

The exhibition “Alkis Pierrakos. Lepanto: The Naval Battle” is inaugurated in Corfu, at the Latin Chapel of the Old Fortress. This is the third presentation of the exhibition, following the initial presentation at the SMCA venue in Moni Lazariston, Thessaloniki (10.10.2014-10.01.2015) and the second one at the Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika Gallery, Benaki Museum, Athens (5.02-28.03.2015).The exhibition is scheduled to be hosted in Nafpaktos during Autumn 2015, on the occasion of the anniversary of the Naval Battle of Lepanto.

This crucial historical event that took place in October 1571, is presented by Alkis Pierrakos with quick and sturdy strokes of indian ink on paper, with the Ionian Sea as an abstract scene and his painting as a narrative and imagerative power. These works illustrate the historically critical for the development of European civilization Battle of Lepanto, which broadly defined European history and fate after the collision between the forces of the Christian Western world and Islam.

The exhibition is co-organised by the State Museum of Contemporary Art, Thessaloniki and The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation, Athens.

Excerpt from the Curator’s text

At a time when the whole planet, and especially the Mediterranean, is witnessing an outbreak of war, violence, terror, social and political turmoil, economic crisis, the displacement of value systems and the rise of religious fanaticism, the work of A. Pierrakos serves as a reminder that art can operate both at a psychological and at a social level, as it revives and updates historical memory, conveys meanings and messages and stimulates feelings.

The images from the naval battle allude to the daily parade of media images from present-day violent conflicts, which have devastating consequences and a great number of victims across the planet. Alkis Pierrakos’ European education and consciousness, perhaps also influenced by the violence conveyed by this inescapable news agenda, “sparked off” the creation of those works.

With his meticulous attention to movement – the repetition of the theme; the dynamism of his forms and lines; the contrasts between light and shadow and white and black – the drawings look like a film projection, which alludes to a dramatic time that coincides with the very beginnings of human history.

The exhibition is implemented under the auspices of the Municipality of Corfu, in collaboration with the Ephorate of Antiquities of Corfu, and with support from the Association for the Promotion of the Work of Alkis Pierrakos (APOAP) and Mr. Spiro Flamburiari.

Opening hours: daily, 08:00-20:00 / tel. +30 26610 48120, 27935.

Biographical Notes

Born on November 21st, 1920, in Thessaloniki,Greece. Until 1947 he lived in Yugoslavia, Thessaloniki and Athens. He studied at the Gewerbeschule of Basel (1948-1952), at the Slade School of Fine Arts and at the Central School of Arts and Crafts of London, where he met Oskar Kokoschka. In 1954 he moved permanently to Paris, where he lives and works until today. Since 1980 he has been working for long periods at Oxylithos, Evia. He has been a member and the co-ordinator of the group “La Ligne et le Signe”, which aimed to combine the limitations of drawing with the freedom of colour. In 1995 the “Association pour la Promotion de l’oeuvre d’ A. Pierrakos (APOAP)” was established.

His works have been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad.

10 July 2018 / ALKIS PIERRAKOS. LEPANTO: THE NAVAL BATTLE

The exhibition “Alkis Pierrakos. Lepanto: The Naval Battle” is being inaugurated at the Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika Gallery on February 4, 2015. In this way, the Benaki Museum welcomes again the important artist Alkis Pierrakos, following his retrospective exhibition which had been presented at the Pireos Street Annexe in 2007.

The exhibition is being organised by the State Museum of Contemporary Art (Thessaloniki) and The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation, in collaboration with the Benaki Museum.

A very important and crucial historical event for the development of the European civilization, the Naval Battle of Lepanto, the Mediterranean Sea as a setting, and the art of painting as a mean of narrative and image making power are the basic elements of the exhibition. The artist, inspired by the Naval Battle of Lepanto, is presenting a new series of drawings with Indian ink on paper, which he created since 2011. In these works, dominated by the expressionist intensity and dynamism of the forms and lines, Pierrakos gives a dramatic sense of a violent conflict. Without resorting to full abstraction, he not only describes a historical event, but uses it as a motive for painting.

The exhibition was initially presented at the State Museum of Contemporary Art at the Moni Lazariston venue in Thessaloniki (October 10, 2014 – January 10, 2015) and will be also presented in Corfu, at the Latin Chapel of the Old Fortress (April 4-June 14, 2015).

Born on November 21st, 1920, in Thessaloniki,Greece. Until 1947 he lived in Yugoslavia, Thessaloniki and Athens. He studied at the Gewerbeschule of Basel (1948-1952), at the Slade School of Fine Arts and at the Central School of Arts and Crafts of London, where he met Oskar Kokoschka. In 1954 he moved permanently to Paris, where he lives and works until today. Since 1980, he has been working for long periods at Oxylithos, Evia. He has been a member and the co-ordinator of the group “La Ligne et le Signe”, which aimed to combine the limitations of drawing with the freedom of colour. In 1995 the “Association pour la Promotion de l’oeuvre d’ A. Pierrakos (APOAP)” was established.

His works have been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad.

10 July 2018 / Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! Beyond the standard holidays, our offices will be closed on December 24, 2014, and January 2 , 2015.

10 July 2018 / THEODOROS RALLI. Looking East

THEODOROS RALLI
Looking East.

Benaki Museum
Museum of Islamic Art

The Benaki Museum of Islamic Art unveils the exhibition « Theodoros Ralli: Looking East» on Wednesday 10th December 2014 at 20:00 and will run until February 22nd 2015.

The exhibition is dedicated to the work of an important Greek artist and is held on the occasion of the museum’s 10th year anniversary celebration. This is the first solo presentation of Theodoros Ralli’s work since his death in 1909. It aims to highlight the artist’s work through selected paintings and explore the displayed image of the Islamic East in the West.

The works on display are on loan from the Alpha Bank collection, public collections (such as The National Galley-Alexander Soutzos Museum, Museum of the City of Athens- Vouros Eftaxias Foundation and the Directorate of Modern Cultural Heritage) as well as from private collections, some of which will be presented for the first time to the public, such as the: “Python charmer” (private collection, Athens) “The sultan’s favourite (private collection, London) and “Nasli” (private collection, Athens).

Theodoros Ralli was of Chian descent, born in Istanbul and spent most of his life in France where his work was formed through the European artistic movement of Orientalism and according to the French academic technique. He is considered to be the main representative of Orientalism in Greece and contributed to the creation of the Greek modern artistic tradition. Theodoros Ralli’s work is inspired by the Greek lands and the Middle East and reflects on the relations between these two worlds through the prism of 19th century French school.

The exhibition is divided in three basic sections:

The introductory section attempts a first contact with the artist’s life with the display of self-portraits, studies, letters and photographs from his studios in Paris and Cairo. Also included in this section are designs he made as books illustrations, one of the volumes from his personal archives, his published journal from his trip to Mount Athos as well as clippings from the press.

In the painting of thesecond section entitled The Harem and the Bath the painter chooses to depict the harem as a stereotypical place of fascination and eroticism and portrays women in interiors, on couches surrounded by pillows and luxurious textiles, as well as hookahs and tambourines. At the same time Ralli also employed a more familiar and everyday approach, than that of the role of the odalisque, which corresponds more to the reality of this era.

In his works the hammam is a fictitious place where privacy and intimacy are prevalent. Ralli through different versions of the theme focuses on the nude with an idealistic quality.

The third section is entitled Eastern Faithand includes works which are relevant to the monotheistic religions of the East by depicting holy places, religious rituals and the interior of churches and mosques. The mystic atmosphere is accentuated by the particular use of light. The presence of figures in these places varies, while the artist avoids using human figures in Muslim mosques.

The distinctive element of Ralli’s art lies in the performance of a lived East and therefore familiar, simple and understandable. Figures are presented in their human dimensions, as the artist’s gaze observes them with familiarity, understanding, and compassion for their lives. He employed the academic idiom, combined with symbols and theatricality created the myth of his own East, an East he envisioned, lived, and loved.

Exhibition curator: Dr Mirka Palioura, art historian

Design and graphic editing: Stamatis Zannos

The exhibition will be accompanied by a bilingual publication (Greek/English), a Benaki Museum publications, written by Dr Mirka Palioura. The publication is saluted by Mina Moraitou, Curator of the Islamic Collection of the Benaki Museum and is prefaced by Katerina Koskina, Art Director of the Ioannis F. Kostopoulos Foundation.

ORGANIZATION: BENAKI MUSEUM

WITH THE KIND SUPPORT OF:
THE J. F. COSTOPOULOS FOUNDATION

10 July 2018 / Paxos Music Feastival 2014

Paxos Music Feastival 2014

Paxos Festival Trust, Paxos Cultural Association and the Municipality of Paxos welcome you to the 2014 Paxos Festival, our 28th summer music gala on this magical island.
Alice Turner and Michael Brownlee Walker, our new artistic directors, have programmed an adventurous series of concerts, bringing together musicians from the United Kingdom and Greece.
Players from the Hallé Orchestra in the UK and the Athens State Orchestra join the Ergon Ensemble (one of Greece’s most prominent contemporary music ensembles), our two director-pianists and the brilliant young mezzo-soprano Rebecca Afonwy-Jones (fresh from the main stage at The Royal Opera, Covent Garden) to present a wonderful week of performances.
Dimitra Trypani returns to the island to lead an enlarged workshop for the young people of the island, featuring music specially composed for the course, in partnership with choir conductor Anelia Stefanova and a team of specialized music educators. Another workshop, focusing on traditional Greek music and instruments, will be run by Martha Mavroidi.
We’re also excited to present famous musicians and song writers Frank Musker and Yiannis Spathas, who will lead a song-writing workshop. Performances of the material from the workshops will feature in the festival programme.
The festival opens with performances by the percussion ensemble of the Corfu Philharmonic Society (“the Old”) in the squares of Gaios and Lakka.

Accompanied by the Athens String Quartet and visiting musicians from the UK Presenting local folk tales in original music and songs

2nd part: “From Beethoven to Led Zeppelin” a Youth concert led by Giannis Spathas and Frank Musker. Well known rock, jazz, soul, greek songs and original scores created especially performed by young local musicians

Athens String Quartet collaborates with George Panayotidis, Ali Başeğmezler, – first violin and viola of the Armonia Atenea – The Friends of Music Orchestra –
and visiting musicians from the UK to perform:

CONCERTWorks for string quartet by Ginastera, Glass, Dusapin and WebernErgon Ensemble, one of Greece’s leading contemporary music ensembles; working in close collaboration with Ensemble Modern of Frankfurt, world-leading ensemble of new music; founded in 2008 it is regularly supported by the Ernst von Siemens Foundation. They perform:

CONCERT
Beethoven to Grainger: Folk Melodies from around the worldRebecca Afonwy-Jones (mezzo-soprano) –Associate Artist in the Welsh National Opera, Ian Watson (violin)‘Principal First Violin’ of the Halle Orchestra, Clare Rowe (cello)member of the cello section of the Hallé Orchestra, Alice Turner (piano) song accompanist, vocal coach and repetiteur, specialising in art song and German, Italian and French language training, Michael Brownlee Walker (piano) soloist, accompanist and repetiteur with many appearances on tv and radio in the UK and all over the world get together on the stage of Paxos Music Festival to perform:

Martha Mavroidi (voice/lafta/saz)a singer and lutenist from Greece performs music from Greece and the Balkans with Stratis Psaradellis (lyra) specializing in the lyra of Istanbul and Dimitra Trypani (traditional percussion). Also participating workshop participants

10 July 2018 / Have a nice summer!

The J. F. Costopoulos Foundation will be closed from August 11 to August 22, 2014 inclusive.

Have a nice summer!

10 July 2018 / International Classical Music Festival of Cyclades

The International Classical Music Festival of Cyclades is renewing vows with its audience, in order to celebrate its 10th anniversary and the 150 years from the inauguration of Apollo Theatre of Hermoupolis. With the motto “Ars longa, vita brevis”, a phrase by Hippocrates, the internationally acclaimed festival, pays a tribute to classical music. World renown artists have honored the ICMFC with their participation, such as Leonidas Kavakos, Nobuko Imai, Michaela Martin, Frans Helmerson, Radovan Vlatkovic, Janis Vakarelis, Costas Cotsiolis and Michel Lethiec among others. The 2014 edition offers a diverse and rich program, with an ensemble of the world’s oldest orchestra, the Royal Danish Orchestra (Det Kongelige Kapel, est. 1448) as guests of honor. As every year, this year’s festival features distinguished artists such as the Athens Mandolinata quintet, the soloists of the Greek National Opera, Vassiliki Karayanni, Irene Karayanni and Ioanna Forti, the counter tenor Nikos Spanatis, the pianists Alexandra Nomidou and Karolos Zouganelis, the Greek actress Magda Mavroyanni, the concertmaster of the Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra, Korean violinist Paul Kim, the artistic director and conductor of the Athens State Orchestra, Stefanos Tsialis, the artistic director of the Sinfonia Piraeus and the Saronic islands Festival, conductor Nikos Haliassas, and the violinist Yiannos Margaziotis, concertmaster of the National Greek Opera Orchestra and artistic director of the International Classical Music Festival of Cyclades.